The PSR-OR700 Arranger Workstation from Yamaha features some very cool content, dedicated “Scale Setting” panel buttons for on-the-fly scale tuning, MegaVoice and Modeling Technology, and USB jack for connecting peripheral storage devices. The keyboard has 61 touch-sensitive keys, 96-note polyphony, 314 accompaniment Styles featuring 146 special World Styles, large screen, a special selection of World Voices and 22 Drum Kits. Ease of operation – Direct Access Button, Music Finder, Quick Record, One Touch Setting (OTS), Multi Pads, Built-in Help, Demo, Mixing Console, Registration Memory, Performance assistant technology Dynamic Voices and effects – The keyboard comes with 813 voices, is 96-note polyphonic and has 4 Effects blocks plus Reverb and Chorus Professional Connections Keyboard – 61 Keys (C1 ~ C6) with Touch Response (Initial Touch) Polyphony – 96 notes max. Display – 5.7 QVGA B/W LCD capable of Lyric and Score display 813 Preset Voices – 317 (more…)

There’s a diversity of products that’s suitable to design sound. You have the potential of constructing new sounds with either sound editing gear or sound developing software. But, what selection of sound designing items would be the best possible item to get? There are many factors to take into consideration when attempting to get your hands on the most adequate product to add with your studio. It’s probably the number of qualities. Or, it may likely be the simplicity and reputation of the equipment. And for a number of people, it could be the price tag that decide what they are able to get. Here are some details about sound editing keyboards and sound designing software.

Most keyboards are able to be used alone and consist of all the devices, editing gear, and multi-samples that can be used to construct any music or sound on your hardware. A few pieces of hardware workstations like keyboards typically carry lots of instruments with a large array of combis and pre-sets to take advantage of. These sounds incorporate a sizeable amount of conventional and fresh audio instruments from pianos, organs, and bass to a generous mixture of drum kits. In addition, they have analog sounds like synths, pads, FX, and electronic percussions. The drum loops that’s added, whether traditional or analog can be quite large. The sounds in a lot of hardware may be so ingenious that they could make your undertaking amazingly easy as you are designing your sounds in the fashion that was planned or creating your own customized pre-sets.

The things included in many sound designing workstations generally contain oscillators and effects engines that can be applied to adjust or create any collection of sounds. You could link up to sixteen instruments and modify them using the sound designing tools to shape totally new sounds or the reconstruction of those original sounds. A good deal of keyboards may have a large library of arpegiators that are useful to add a touch of pizzazz to your creations. You may perhaps be able to recreate alternate versions of these patterns too.

The only dilemma with keyboards is it can be expensive to some degree to obtain, mainly when buying the top or latest brand. An excellent workstation might have a value  between $1500 to $3600.

If you have a desire for full amount of control in the music you are modifying, sound designing software is in all probability a good pick. Sound designing software may comprise a bit more qualities and choices than a good number of keyboards. Some are adequate enough to be utilized as a stand alone system. Others can be a nice consolidation with any digital/analog studio combination.

With sound creating software, you could choose a set of traditional patterns, unite them in up to 16 channels at a time, then use a varied collection of effects to them to “cook up” distinctive radical sounds. You could then employ oscillators and tuning to condense the audio and give them ominous flowing signals. There’s also a conglomeration of modulation waveform selections and other devices to create a range of effects to the original sound or multi-sample that you dreamed up. The other effects that you can put into action is flanger, phasers, chorus, reverbs, and analog filters.

The bank of  instruments you will get with sound creating software is rather analogous to keyboard workstations, but with a larger file. Several of these plug-ins can hold the capacity of up to several different keyboard workstations in one great bundle. The section of instruments you will get with sound creating software is synths, bass, keyboard, leads, pads, horns and so on. The set of multi-samples may be made up of an enormous amount of audio that you can use as templates to formulate “one of a kind” patterns.

A lot of sound designing software have editing or mixing tools, except they are particularly for shaping and mixing the structure and ambience of your newly made sounds. It’s more effective to utilize the mixing tools of your main recording program to get a wholesome mix for your entire song.

Both keyboard workstations and sound designing software are fine programs to use for creating sound. Keyboards give you the benefit of having pre-sets that make it easy to create new sounds swiftly. They are capable of being very good MIDI controllers too. But, if you require unlimited control of what you are doing for your song that is low-cost, sound designing software could be the better option.

These are the instruments that would be important to effectively manage your sound designing software. You will need a reliable MIDI controller  that is USB compatible or a USB MIDI adaptor for your conventional MIDI keyboard. And of course, it is vital that you have a computer with lots of memory space to contain  the large library of instruments and sounds included in the sound designing software. An MPC, Akai, or other similar types of  MIDI pad machines is optional, especially for the many drum kits that sound designing software could have. Your mini studio also call for an adaptable DAW like Sonar, Ableton, or Reason to unite all of your programs. And finally…….your proficiency as a designer, beat maker, or a producer. Apply your artistry and take a little time to explore and enjoy the dynamic music-creating tool that your computer will become after putting in your preferred sound designing software.

In addition to containing nearly all the tools you’ll need to begin making beats, FL Studio also comes with some stock sounds to get your production game started. Bundled with FL Studio is some drum kits, bass tones, and several other sounds such as strings, synths, percussion, etc. While these sounds may help get you started, sooner you’ll find that they get used and re-used fast and you’ll need to load up on some newer sounds to stay creative.

Sampled Sounds:

Obtaining newer sounds can be done in several ways. A common technique is by sampling old records and has been popularized by producers such as Kanye West, Pete Rock, and the RZA. There are several techniques used when sampling music. While some people loop grooves and breaks, others choose to segment or “chop” components of the original loop to create something completely different than the original. A master of this technique is DJ Premier. By studying the sound of DJ Premier you’ll see that he barely just loops his samples and rather chops them up to the point where the original is barely recognizable. Key to sampling is having a good ear for what to sample. This is why record hunting or “crate digging” is a complex art on its own. Record collectors also known as crate diggers are constantly in search of records for a sound or a combination of unique sounds to create their beats. Whether it’s a horn stab, an ethnic instrument’s sound, or a drum break, as a hip hop producer, you should develop a keen sense of collecting, using, and transforming sounds. FL Studio has various tools to do exactly this. You can record sounds into FL Studio with either your own sound editor, or using the mixer in FL Studio. If you are a producer who plans on doing a lot of sampling, you may want to consider purchasing a turntable and mixer. And don’t forget to save some cash for the records you’ll be sampling from!

Sound Modules:

Sound modules are electronic instruments that contain a bank of sounds that rely on an external interface (such as a keyboard controller or a sequencer) to trigger its internal sounds. Usually this is accomplished through MIDI, a protocol typically used in electronic music. A whole book can be written about MIDI, its features, and advantages but since this guide is supposed to get you started rather than confuse you already, I’ll keep it brief. In a nutshell, MIDI stands for Musical Instrument Digital Interface and is an industry standard communication protocol in electronic music. It is used for communication between interconnected electronic music devices through MIDI messages (no audio is transfered), sent from the sending device to the receiver. So in relation to sound modules, MIDI messages are sent from either the sequencer or a keyboard controller to trigger the sounds on the module. In essence, these MIDI messages can be sent in the form of musical notes, and typically dictate how they will be played by the sound module. An example of the properties MIDI messages can send are things like velocity, volume, timings, etc. Sound modules, in rack form, are a good option because they are usually cheaper than buying the keyboard version which essentially contains the same sounds such as drum kits, bass, and other instruments. For example, The Yamaha Motif ES sound module is several hundreds of dollars cheaper than it’s keyboard counterpart, but lacks some features the keyboard version may offer, notably the keys, sliders and knobs, and smaller display. While sound modules can range from a few hundred dollars to several thousand, there is yet another solution for us trying to stick to a tight budget, and that’s where the world of VSTs come in handy. Now if you’re thinking, “Damn, another term I’ve got to remember” but you’ll be glad to know this one. VST stands for Virtual Studio Technology and is basically software replacements for real hardware instruments. Many instrument companies who have traditionally made hardware instruments are now putting them out in software form as VST plug-ins. These VST plug-ins can then be loaded as a channel into FL Studio and played as if it were a hardware device connected via MIDI cable. E-MU, who originally came out with the Proteus 2000 hardware sound module, no longer produce it and have now come out with the Proteus X which sells for about $150. The Proteus X features the same Composer sound bank as the original Proteus 2000 created in 1999. Additional sound banks can be purchased through E-MU’s website such as the Mo’Phatt and Planet Earth for only $50 which were both popular hardware sound modules.

Sound Libraries and Sample CDs:

Last, but certainly not least, another potential source for new sounds are from Sound Library CDs. Sound Libraries are usually a bunch of sampled sounds, such as drum kits, bass tones, percussion, stabs, or sound effects collected and compiled by the vendor, usually in .wav or .aif format. These vary widely in prices and can be anywhere from $10 to several hundred dollars, depending on the quality and how extensive the sound library is. While I haven’t purchased any sound libraries on CD before, I have heard people who rely a great deal on them and have no doubt that they come in handy. A very intriguing sample CD is one called “All the Breaks” which contains 300 drum breaks all in one CD for your sampling or chopping pleasure. With the wealth of all these news sounds at your disposal you may find you need a more efficient way of auditioning them and playing them. This is where having a MIDI controller may come in handy.

Costing over £2,000, the Tyros 2 was not a purchase to be made without deliberation as well as the need to convince the wife that it was money well-spent. Eventually my powers of persuasion won through and I took the leap of faith and ordered one online. The Tyros 2 Workstation arrived (complete with speakers and amplifier). The packaging was strong and protected the contents.

I spent a happy hour or so assembling the stand and keyboard having first checked to see all the parts were present. NB if you buy one, be careful what you do with the manuals in the other languages as, in with them, you will find the bolts which hold the hard-drive in place.

Eventually I was able to start playing. The vast array of coloured lights and the multi-function monitor on the workstation seem confusing to begin with but very soon it all starts to make sense and you are playing. The whole thing is surprisingly easy to get to grips with and the manual is generally easy to follow. One of the things I particularly liked about the manual was that someone has thought about the human element – I’ve bought my new keyboard, I want to play it, not waste time reading pages from a manual. All you need to do to begin with is read the quick guide – come back and read the full version when you’re on your way.

The Tyros 2 is an easy-to-play instrument. For beginners, it has a single-finger chord option, a ‘follow the music’ feature and a metronome which is useful for highlighting the beat. For more advanced musicians, there is a powerful mixing and editing deck, a built-in synthesizer, drum kits and a vast array of play-along backing rhythms. In fact, that is what I wanted and what I like about the Tyros 2 – it is a real ‘play-along’ fun instrument.

Saving tracks is easy and they can be exported as WAV files to your PC for conversion to MP3 and burning onto CD using a USB Flash key.

The only snag I had with the workstation was that the optional hard drive (definitely required) was missing and I had to call the supplier to get one sent to me.

Well, that’s me – I’m off now to play my Yamaha Tyros 2.

In 1981, Roland released their first synthesiser supporting the MIDI format. MIDI (Musical Instrumental Digital Interface) is an industry standard protocol that allows musical equipment and computers to communicate with each other. In the early eighties, MIDI, developed sequences which allowed one to record, edit and play back. Soon after interfaces were released for the Apple Macintosh, Commodore 64, PC-Dos and the Atari ST. In 1991 the MIDI was tweaked to allow all types of media control devices to communicate with each other.  A number of music file formats based on the MIDI-byte stream are used today to store music in the very compact form used for ringtones and video games.

Today the music industry has come full circle with the decline of record and CD sales and the marked growth of digital music sales in the form of mobile phone ringtones. Full circle in that Joy Divisions “Love will tear us Apart’ has made a digital comeback, and can be heard from many a teenagers mobile phone, betraying the anonymity of the caller, and full circle in that once again, music has been reduced to its lowest common denominator. Simple notes on a simple scale encoded and decoded in the simplest possible way.

Yet, there’s nothing simple about the digital music business. In July 2008 New Motion Inc (now Atrinsic)a leader in the internet advertising, mobile technology and entertainment industry announced that for a mere $6 million plus, it had acquired the asset of Ringtone.com, a valuable internet domain that receives over 1,000 sign ups per day for the downloading of mobile content.

Burton Katz, the Company’s CEO, commented saying “Ringtones are the historic growth driver behind worldwide mobile content sales. Over the past year and a half, there have been fundamental shifts in the subscription based business model supporting these services creating unique opportunities in a business continuing to see strong consumer demand.”

At the same time, Broadcast Music Inc. (BMI), an organization that collects royalties for song writers and publishers, is forecasting that overall ringtone sales in the US will fall 7 percent in 2008 to approximately $510 million. That drop indicating an 8 percent drop in 2007 to $550 million. BMI claimed that the market hit its peak in the US in 2006 with sales of $600 million.

CEO of Advertising web Service Steven Bermeister remembers recording music on his Roland Jupiter-8 keyboard. His family established one of the first retail computer shops in Sydney where the now retro Atari ST, with MIDI interface was sold. Even then his love of technology merged comfortably with his love of music. These days he’s on the other side of the music business selling digital music and all its applications online through peer to peer networking.

Realizing that the ringtone business in the US was about two years behind Europe in terms of off-deck mobile content plays, in 2003 he established The Ringtone Channel. He wanted to get in early to be well positioned to “ride the wave of success that was seen in Europe and Australia when the US market caught up.”

Bermeister says “The heat is coming out of the Ringtone market which means that the flood of players who came into the market late and have been losing money are getting out.” He believes that will stabilize the business and bring down the cost of acquiring customers. The players that remain (those who got in early) will divide the market between them.

Madonna’s Hung Up was almost certainly written to be downloaded onto a mobile phone and Britney knows it’s her Prerogative to join the ringtone game too. The pop industry has fully ingested the digital music platform and is now spitting it out in ever devolving incremental bursts of half digested compositions, catchy enough to dance to and just short enough to forget.